Re-Logic is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Indiana, United States. It was founded by Andrew Spinks in 2011. The company is best known for developing and publishing Terraria, a 2D action-adventure sandbox video game, in 2011. Re-Logic also published Pixel Piracy and Pixel Privateers, both being developed by Quadro Delta, in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Between 2015 and 2018, Re-Logic also worked on a Terraria spinoff titled Terraria: Otherworld; however, the game was canceled due to them not being satisfied with its development. Re-Logic voiced its opposition to their titles becoming Epic Games Store exclusive in 2019 and to the royalty fee that was announced by the Unity Engine in 2023.
History
Based in Floyds Knobs, Indiana,[2] Re-Logic was founded during the early development cycle of Terraria, which began development in January 2011 by Andrew Spinks. With the help of a team of game testers,[3] he built the game using the Microsoft XNA framework.[4] Re-Logic released Terraria on May 16, 2011;[5] the game was released earlier than planned, considering that a beta version of the game was leaked to the public.[6] The developer continued to supply the game with content updates,[7] although in February 2012, Spinks announced that its development would not continue further.[8] However, in 2013, the development resumed,[9] with the second major update being released in October 2013.[10] In the same month of the release, Spinks hinted at creating a sequel, Terraria 2.[11]
Beginning in September 2012, Re-Logic worked with Engine Software and 505 Games on porting Terraria to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[12] The game was later also ported to PlayStation Vita by 505 Games,[13] and to mobile devices by Codeglue.[14] In 2014, Terraria was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[15][16] The Nintendo 3DS version was released in 2015, while the Wii U version was released in 2016.[17][18]
Re-Logic became involved with the development of Pixel Piracy in 2014, the game developed by Quadro Delta.[19] It was released on the Steam digital distribution service on July 31, 2014.[20] Re-Logic ended up publishing the game.[19] In February 2016, the game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[21] Beginning in 2016, Re-Logic worked with Quadro Delta on another game called Pixel Privateers.[22] Released in 2017, it was compared to Borderlands and Diablo.[23][24]
In February 2015, Re-Logic began working on a spinoff of Terraria titled Terraria: Otherworld.[25] The game included strategy and role-playing elements, such as tower defense gameplay.[26][27] Re-Logic worked with Engine Software on the game until April 2017, when they were replaced by Pipeworks Studios.[28] A year later, however, Re-Logic announced that Otherworld had been canceled due to them not being satisfied with its development.[29]
In response to an increasing number of games becoming exclusive to the Epic Games Store, Re-Logic's vice-president Whitney Spinks asserted that no Re-Logic titles would become Epic Games Store exclusives, adding that the company would never "sell [their] souls" for any amount of money.[30][31] In February 2021, Spinks and Re-Logic had a public falling out with Google over the suspension of Re-Logic's Google account without a given reason. In response to the suspension, Re-Logic announced the cancellation of the Google Stadia version of Terraria.[32] Later that February, Google reached out to Re-Logic about the account shutdown and provided transparency around the situation and restored their accounts; subsequently, Re-Logic reaffirmed that they would release the game for Stadia, which it did on March 18, 2021.[33][34]
In September 2023, the Unity Engine announced a royalty policy called Unity Runtime Fee, calculated per installation and charged monthly, if the product reaches specific revenue and lifetime installation thresholds.[35] This change was negatively received by the video game developer community.[36] Although Re-Logic does not use the engine, they condemned the policy and announced donations of $100,000 to open-source Godot and FNA engines,[37] and a $1,000 monthly donation from that point onward.[38]
Games
Developed
Published
- Pixel Piracy (2015)[19]
- Pixel Privateers (2017)[22]
Canceled
- Terraria: Otherworld[29]
References
- ^ "The Team". Re-Logic. Archived from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ "Re-Logic: Contact". Re-Logic. Archived from the original on March 9, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ^ Jongewaard, Dana (April 29, 2011). "Minecraft: The Platformer?". IGN. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Allsop, Ken (September 20, 2023). "Terraria Dev Pledges $200,000 To Unity Rivals Amid Fees Controversy". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Senior, Tom (May 16, 2011). "2D Minecraft-Alike Terraria Is Out Today". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Cameron, Phill (July 28, 2011). "Terraria Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Senior, Tom (November 28, 2011). "Terraria Patch 1.1 to Add New Bosses, Monsters, NPCs, Hard Mode and Unreal Megashark". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Pearson, Craig (February 22, 2012). "Terraria Dev: "Time to Move On"; Fans: "Nooooooo!"". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Sykes, Tom (January 26, 2013). "Terraria Creator Asks What You Would Like to See in a Possible Update". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Savage, Phil (October 2, 2013). "Terraria 1.2 Update Released, Tweaks Almost Every Part of the Game". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ Grayson, Nathan (October 3, 2013). "Well Here's A Thing: Redigit Tells RPS There's A Terraria 2". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (September 11, 2012). "Terraria Heading to PSN and XBLA Early Next Year". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (March 28, 2013). "Indie Darling Terraria Announced for PlayStaion Vita". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (May 31, 2013). "Terraria Coming to iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 This Summer (Update)". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ Prell, Sam (November 10, 2014). "Terraria Hits PS4 on Tuesday – Can You Dig It?". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Cowan, Danny (November 14, 2014). "Terraria Carves Out an Xbox One Release Today". Engadget. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Blake, Vikki (December 3, 2015). "Terraria Release Date Confirmed for Nintendo 3DS". IGN. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (May 4, 2016). "At Long Last, Terraria Has a Wii U Release Date". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ a b c Priestman, Chris (May 15, 2015). "Why The Pixel Piracy Developer Apologized To Its Community, And How It Bounced Back". Siliconera. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ González, Emmanuel (September 13, 2014). "Pixel Piracy – Análisis" [Pixel Piracy – Review]. IGN (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (February 16, 2016) [February 15, 2016]. "Out This Week: Street Fighter V, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Conquest". IGN. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Saed, Sherif (January 27, 2016). "Terraria Devs Announce Pixel Privateers". VG247. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ "Pixel Privateers Is Like Squad-Based Borderlands". Kotaku. February 25, 2017. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ Meer, Alec (March 17, 2017). "Wot I Think: Pixel Privateers". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ Gera, Emily (February 17, 2015). "The Makers of Terraria Announce Terraria: Otherworld". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Prescott, Shaun (March 11, 2015). "Terraria: Otherworld Is Terraria With 'Purpose'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (March 11, 2015). "Terraria: Otherworld Has Tower Defense". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (April 4, 2017). "Terraria: Otherworld Update Reveals A New 'Development Partner'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ a b Tarason, Dominic (April 13, 2018). "Sandbox Spinoff Terraria: Otherworld Has Been Cancelled". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Winslow, Jeremy (May 21, 2019). "Terraria Dev Comes Out Strong Against Epic Games Store Exclusivity". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ^ Handrahan, Matthew (May 16, 2019). "Re-Logic Won't "Sell Our Souls" With Epic Games Store Exclusivity". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ^ Good, Owen S. (February 8, 2021). "Terraria Canceled on Stadia After Developer Gets Locked Out of His Google Accounts". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Lyles, Taylor (February 27, 2021). "Stadia Version of Terraria Is Back in Production After Developer Reconciles with Google". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Marshall, Cass (March 18, 2021). "Terraria Arrives on Google Stadia, Despite Developer Ultimatum". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (September 14, 2023). "Game Devs Say Unity's Big Change Puts Studios at Risk". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 3, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ^ Plant, Logan (September 12, 2023). "Why Unity's New Install Fees Are Spurring Massive Backlash Among Game Developers". IGN. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (September 20, 2023). "Terraria Developer Donates to Open Source Engines in Wake of Unity Policy Changes". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ^ Stedman, Alex (September 20, 2023). "Terraria Developer Slams Unity's 'Predatory Moves,' Donates More Than $200k to Other Game Engines". IGN. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2025.